Helpful Tips from Professional Cerritos DJs

How to Have Your Dream Wedding During a RecessionWedding How To / Instructional

I am a professional female wedding DJ and I am about to teach you the method I used when planning mydream wedding.

This method delivered everything I wanted without having to compromise.

If you’re anything like me, you have been researching articles and books on how to save money on your wedding. Let’s face it, times are tough, but that shouldn’t have to be reflected in your wedding. You only get one chance to marry your true love and although it would be nice to have access to an unlimited budget, that is simply unrealistic. When I was planning my wedding I spent hours pouring over books that offered advice on how to have your dream wedding on a budget. The problem was that the more I read, the more I began to feel that these articles were out of touch with real people and real weddings. Some of the advice they were dishing out were things like “don’t hire a professional photographer, place a camera on the tables and have your guests take all of the pictures.” I thought: Are these people serious? Why on earth would I ever chance my wedding pictures to my guests who might drink too much/forget to turn on the flash/cut my head off in the picture?

I’m going to teach you the industry secret of how to get everything you want for your wedding and still be able to afford it. I have freely shared this solution with my bridal clients - and now I am going to share it with you, because I believe that this information should be made available to every single bride, absolutely FREE:

The Industry Secret:Do you know why diet pills are a billion dollar industry? It is because dieting is awful. When people become limited to only eating cabbage soup every day it takes the joy out of living. Human beings like variety and severing such a huge part of our lives hurts. Diet pill makers know this and so they market a pill that will allow you to “eat anything you want and still lose weight.” Some work better than others, but they all work off of the same basic principle: they suppress your appetite so that you eat less... you can eat the same high quality amazing food, you simply eat a little less of it and hence you lose weight. The idea behind it is “don’t skimp, simply scale back.” This is called shaving across the board.

You can get your first choice in every category of your wedding no matter what economy we find ourselves in simply by applying this same principle.

The reason those wedding budget articles were not working was because they were telling us to sever off huge parts of our wedding instead of shaving off across the board. The method I am going to describe will teach you by example. You can actually apply it to any category but I will give you examples for the top 6 categories most asked about so that you can get the general idea. This is the method that I used and have shared with my bridal clients - what is more is that I have seen it work with every bride, every wedding dream, every budget, 100% of the time.

CATEGORY: VENUE

BAD ADVICE: Choosing a public venue such as a park or public beach. Public venues are just that... public. There is zero control over the environment including strangers walking by, loud cell phone conversations, children screaming, and yes, obnoxious wedding crashers.SHAVING ACROSS THE BOARD: You can have the exact venue and room you want at a fraction of the regular price by choosing an off day. Everybody scrambles for Saturdays - if you ask your venue what the rate would be for a Friday or Sunday you will be shocked & thrilled at how much cheaper it is. Regardless of the day you choose, find out about renting the room for less time - do you truly need it for 12 hours?

CATEGORY: PHOTOGRAPHY / VIDEO

BAD ADVICE: Not hiring a professional photographer and asking your guests to be responsible for your photos and/or video. In addition to everything stated above, you want your guests to relax. Not to mention you only have 1 chance to capture these things.

SHAVING ACROSS THE BOARD: Don’t settle - these are pictures that you will look at for the rest of your life. You can book the photographer that you love and still stay on track by simply booking the next package down. What would you rather have: a giant package of photos from a so-so photographer or a small package of amazing shots taken by the photographer of your dreams?

CATEGORY: MUSIC

BAD ADVICE: Asking a friend to be your DJ instead of hiring a professional - or an ipod wedding. Truly, your choice of entertainment will have an effect on every other aspect of your wedding. Your friend doesn’t know how to read your crowd and an ipod is a nothing more than a “mixed tape”. People will only remember whether or not they had a good time. Think back: have you ever been to a bad party-what made it bad? You don’t want your guests walking away feeling that about your wedding.

SHAVING ACROSS THE BOARD: You can book the DJ that you love by simply booking less time. Some people assume that they have to book the DJ for as long as they have the room - this is not true. Learn from the old vaudeville saying: Always leave them wanting more. Not only does this unlock other areas of your budget, but it ends your wedding on a big bang that leaves everyone buzzing.

OTHER WAYS TO SHAVE ACROSS THE BOARD

CAKE: Order your dream cake for half the amount of people (or even just the intricate top piece) for the cake cutting and get the rest as a sheet cake. No one sees into the kitchen and the staff has to cut it up anyway.

FLOWERS: Order the gorgeous arrangement you want but for every other table instead of every table. The other tables you can either leave alone or put a collage of pictures, candles, or even the cheaper arrangement you were going to settle for.

LIMO: Book 2 different Limo companies so you aren’t paying for time you don’t use. Limo companies book off of 2 hour minimums and they do not offer a split in your timeframe so you get stuck paying for the 6 hours that the driver has to sit around and wait for you. The way around this is by booking 1 company for the pre-ceremony pick ups and the drive to the reception if it’s in a different location, and a different company to pick you up at the end of the reception.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding - everybody deserves to have the wedding of their dreams without the economy dictating it to them. Remember that choosing the correct elements above are essential when planning the most important day in your life.